Help Save YOUR Public Lands...again

I started a thread about the Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland coming to Utah to possibly restore the national monuments that the former occupant eviscerated a few years ago, cutting out half of one monument and about 80% of another. 

Bears Ears National Monument created by President Obama in 2016 and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument created by President Clinton in 1996.   

The thread is here, with some twitter links:  https://vivalazone.org/other-stuff/deb-haaland-utah-thursday-and-friday

Since it's not getting much traffic it seems, I'll share the last entry from last night:

Actually, Secretary Haaland is already there, having visited rock art today.

"Today I was able to visit the ancient petroglyphs at Sand Island Petroglyphs with @BLMNational staff in Utah.

Estimated to be between 300 and 3,000 years old, these images are located in an area that was part of the original Bears Ears Monument designation."

Here's her twitter feed   https://twitter.com/SecDebHaaland

and the feed from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance https://twitter.com/SouthernUTWild

The SUWA feed also documents more great reporting from Zak Podmore how San Juan County got milked by a public lands attorney John W. Howard.

"Howard charged the county $50 for the time it took him to write that email and $150 for the 18 minutes it took him to read the article when it was published."

For years, rural Utah counties have taken federal aid and used it to sue the feds on public land issues instead of for the infrastructure needs they're supposed to address.  

Now this morning, I just received an e-mail from the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition asking for a nationwide effort this Friday. I pasted it below.

If you would like to help, that would be quite nice, thank you. The more voices to counter Utah's Republicans like Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, the better.  

Your voice matters. In fact, it is critical to creating community and connecting with one another. Together, our voices can build support to restore protections for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.

This week, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is visiting the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah. Her visit will influence President Biden's decision to restore these cultural, living landscapes.

The unlawful reduction of the national monuments manufactured harm to their rich and fragile cultural and ecological resources. Protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante must quickly be restored, and we need your help! 

This Friday, April 9th, we ask you to help flood social media with a groundswell of support for restoring protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. 

Show your support by sharing a photo or video on social media using one of the following options:

• Print out a sign or make your own
• Wear your Bears Ears or Grand Staircase t-shirt
• Chalk the Block
• Change your Facebook profile frame. Click here and search “Monuments For All.”

The finishing touches - don’t forget these details when you're ready to post:

• Use the hashtags #MonumentsForAll, #ProtectBearsEars, #HonorTribes, and #SaveGrandStaircase
• Tag us and our partners:
  • Instagram - @bearsearscoalition (BEITC)  @ProtectBearsEars (UDB) @grandstaircasepartners (GSEP)
  • Twitter - @UtahDineBikeyah (UDB)  @SaveBearsEars  (BEITC)  @gsepartners (GSEP) 
  • Facebook - @protectbearsears (BEITC) @UtahDineBikeyah (UDB) @grandstaircaseescalantepartners (GSEP) 

Social media not your thing? No worries! Consider supporting us directly with a donation. Click here. 

Your enduring monumental support is critical for achieving possible, together.  

Thank you,

Patrick Rogers-Gonzales 

Executive Director 

Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition